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The Eagle, the Cactus, and the City on the Lake
How a bird chose the capital of the Aztec empire.
© Alejandro Linares Garcia/ Wikimedia CC
In one of the most iconic founding legends of the Americas, a Golden Eagle devouring a serpent atop a cactus marked the spot where the Mexicas would build Tenochtitlan, capital of the Aztec Empire. Over the centuries, that ancient metropolis transformed into what we now call Mexico City. Though the mythical eagle is now commemorated on the national flag of Mexico, real Golden Eagles need our help through conservation research and habitat protections.
BirdNote®
The Eagle, the Cactus, and the City on the Lake
Written by Lucina Melesio
This is BirdNote.
[Golden Eagle flying calls]
Legends say that some 600 years ago, the Mexica people left their ancestral lands in Aztlán to build a powerful new empire. Their journey was guided by Huitzilopochtli, god of the sun and war, who told the Mexicas to look for his sign: an eagle perched on a cactus, devouring a serpent.
For years they wandered what is now Mexico in search of that prophecy, until finally, they found the sacred bird on a tiny islet in the middle of Lake Texcoco. There, the Mexicas built a floating city right on the water.
[Golden Eagle call]
This was Tenochtitlan, capital of the Aztec Empire. And for several centuries and civilizations afterwards, it continued to grow and transform into the modern metropolis we now call Mexico City. Today, the Golden Eagle still perches on a prickly pear cactus in the center of the Mexican flag.
Though the bird is immortalized in legend, real Golden Eagles now face threats like habitat loss, collisions with power lines and wind turbines, and poisoning from pesticides.
[Golden Eagle]
By 2016, scientists estimated that fewer than 100 breeding pairs remained in Mexico. By protecting critical breeding grounds and supporting raptor research, conservationists are helping Golden Eagle populations bounce back across North and Central America, giving hope that this powerful symbol will soar above Mexico’s mountains for generations to come.
[Golden Eagle]
For BirdNote, I’m Lucina Melesio.
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Senior Producer: Mark Bramhill
Producer: Sam Johnson
Producer: Kizaya Studios
Managing Producer: Jazzi Johnson
Managing Producer: Ariana Remmel
Content Director: Jonese Franklin
Bird sounds provided by The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. Golden Eagle ML57165 recorded by Kathy Groschupf. Golden Eagle ML239518121 recorded by Arch McCallum. Golden Eagle ML85279361 recorded by Deborah House. Golden Eagle ML331746111 recorded by JoAnn Potter Riggle.
BirdNote’s theme was composed and played by Nancy Rumbel and John Kessler.
© 2025 BirdNote November 2025
Narrator: Lucina Melesio
ID# GOEA-CDMX-01-2025-11-18 GOEA-CDMX-01
Lucina Melesio
Writer NarratorSights & Sounds
